The Act of Loving
by Calie1
Summary: Chloe knows he loves her, but he shows it in so many different ways.


Notes: Small one shot in the middle of my hiatus. The events that preceded this oneshot can be considered the events of Season 10 or something totally different. I didn't have anything particular in mind.

"Time's up."

"Wha-" She blinked in confusion, starting to turn her head but stopping as something on her laptop caught her attention again. At the sign of movement from the corner of her eye she continued twisting her head, looking up to focus on the body standing at her side. "What?" He rolled his eyes at her and proceeded to bend over, removing her laptop from her lap and shutting it, giving no concern to what she was working on, and then settled it on the coffee table, far enough that it wasn't within her reach. "Oliver!"

"I said an hour." Oliver nodded to the wall where the clock was located. "It's eleven now."

"What?" she snapped. "Are you giving me a bed time now?"

"No," he said calmly and bent over to neatly stack up the e-mail she had printed out and strewn across his sofa and coffee table, even the couple that had fallen to the floor, "but we agreed staying up until three and four in the morning isn't going to help you get well any faster. Plus, you've been running around all day, I know your ankle hurts and you need to put it up."

"I could just as well be in the hospital Oliver. I don't need a nurse maid."

He stopped at her clipped tone, propped one hand on the back of the couch and the other into the cushion on the other side of her body so that he was leaning over her. "_We_ had a deal when I agreed to your request." It hadn't really been a request though, but rather a mix of pleading, demanding, and anxiousness. Hospitals scared Chloe. They rarely brought up her meteor abilities, and although they were gone, he knew they still lingered in her mind. So when he noticed her desperation, which came in the form of _'Just throw your money and name around! I don't care,'_ he knew she needed to get out of there. Chloe never asked anything of him for her own personal gain. It had been on one condition, she abide by his rules when it came to her care, because when it came to caring for herself, she wouldn't have had rules.

Chloe forced a sigh, trying to relax, because he had held up his end of the bargain, and now she had to hold up hers. "Fine."

"Don't pout, sweet cheeks," he said with a grin and kissed her nose, "you'll be back to your normal workaholic self again in no time."

She only frowned in return. "Can you hand me my crutches?"

"No, you walk on those things like a fish out of water. I had no idea you were so clumsy."

"You try being graceful in crutches." Before she had a chance to question him as to how she would get to the bedroom, he was scooping her up, one arm behind her back and the other beneath her knees. "Oliver!"

"Oh, come on." He hitched her up slightly to secure her in his arms and turned away from the sofa towards the bedroom. "I thought every woman wanted to be swept off her feet by her knight in shining armor."

Normally Chloe would attempt to talk him out of any type of overprotective behavior, but she was hurt, and not just a scratch or a banged head. Both a wrist and ankle were broken, one knee was cracked, her body was covered in multiple scrapes and bruises, and she was just recovering from a concussion. There was also the flu she was just getting over from her lowered immune system and the malnourishment. As the thoughts ran through her head in the darkened clocktower, Chloe squeezed her eyes closed and dropped her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, forcing back the memories and the pain. There were only two ways she knew to do so. For so long it had been work, her watchtower, her only shelter from the pain in her life. Now she had Oliver, and when she wasn't seeking her work to hide from the pain she was seeking him out. Whether it was sitting just a bit closer, threading her fingers through his own, resting her head on his shoulder, or curling in his body at night while he slept. They were all small gestures, and she said nothing, but Oliver knew, Chloe was sure of that. He'd always respond with a smile, one that held a touch of sadness, a squeeze of his hand, his fingers brushing her cheek, his arm around her body, or a kiss to her cheek. Oliver knew what she needed, her work, would never give her that kind of response. "I love you," she whispered softly, pressing a kiss to his neck, relishing in the way he smelled.

At her words Oliver paused just past the doorway to his bedroom. It was dark, the only light that of the bathroom he had exited moments ago after having a shower. It was sufficient enough that he could see the side of her face. She folded so quickly from the woman who had argued with him only seconds ago. With a pained look, that he knew she couldn't see he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you more."

Against her will, Chloe smiled. "You're a fool."

"And you love me." He smiled in response as he finally reached the bed and lowered her upon. "So what does that make you?"

"A woman who believes in charity," she attempted to say in all seriousness, but she was already fighting a grin.

"Oh really?" Oliver asked with a cocked eyebrow, hands pressed into the mattress on either side of her body, head hovering just inches above her own.

"Mmhmmm." The corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk, and that infamous Oliver Queen charm was suddenly focused on her. In only a moment she was aware of him, all of him, the playful, flirtatious look on his face, his wayward blond hair, bare, broad shoulders. The long, hard, lean line of of his body hovered above her. It had been three days since he practically broke her out of the hospital and brought her to the clock tower. Yet he made no move, and she knew why. Every time he touched her he was careful, voicing his concerns for her safety and the pain she was in. Oliver treated her like she might break at any moment, and technically she was broken, but it was easy to assume he would be wary of any sexual contact. Slowly, hesitantly, Chloe lifted her hand and pressed it against his cheek, the rough stubble scratching against her palm. Since her return Oliver rarely went into work, and the frequency in which he shaved had decreased. As she slid her hand to the back of his head his head lowered and she was grateful he took the hint. The reaction to the touch of his lips was immediate.

It was just as Oliver feared it would be, to much for him to resist. Her lips were warm, soft, and pliable under his. Her breath came out in a shudder as they met for what felt like the first time. It wasn't, by any means. They had kissed since her return, but it was always guarded, at least on his end. Now here she was, lying beneath him, pulling his head forcefully closer as she whined softly into his mouth and arched into his body, calling to him. Without thinking, and forgetting about his earlier concerns, Oliver leaned in further, sliding a hand beneath her shirt, brushing his thumb over her nipple.

Chloe reached out for him, wrapping an arm around his back and beneath his arm, pulling his body closer. One of his knees pressed between her own, forcing them to part to accommodate his. She went further, her good knee up and pressing her hips into his own, finally feeling the pressure of his body between her legs.

Hearing her whimper into his mouth, feeling her pressed against his growing erection, it was enough to startle him, forced him to remember. "Chloe, wait..."

"No." Chloe grasped her hand tighter around the back of his head, dug her fingers into his back. "Don't you dare do this to me."

His brow drew in concern, a frown starting to form. "Chloe, it isn't like that. But I'm not going to hurt you because I can't keep it in my pants."

"Maybe I don't want you to. Did you ever thing of that? You ask me twenty times a day if I need anything, this is what I need."

Oliver swallowed, feeling the emotions he kept hidden so well begin to overtake him. "Chloe, it kills me seeing you like this." His voice shook and he knew she could see pain he felt, because slowly her eyes began to glisten with tears and then she turned away. "No," he removed his hand form under her shirt and brought it to her face, forcing her to look at him, "look at me. I'd give anything to make it me, anything, but I can't. So all I can do is take care of you and make sure your okay. And I'm not going to be the one to hurt you even more because I can't control myself."

"You would never hurt me." She blinked, trying to clear her eyes of the tears that formed at his pained filled words. "That is the last thing I would expect. You love me, you tell me all the time, and you show it to me to. You got me out of the hospital, you're waiting on me hand and foot, taking care of me. But I need you to show me this way, I need you...please."

It was an honest to god plea. Chloe never begged him, but she was openly doing so in that moment. The desperation was in her voice, it showed in her eyes and her face. Oliver wanted her, just the thought of sliding inside of her, tight, warm and wet, squeezing him as she cried out made him hard.

Chloe watched his eyes flicker to her lips, then back to her eyes, and before she could figure out what she saw there his lips were on hers again, not just kissing her, responding to her own, but demanding, and she knew.


End file.
